An exhibition of new etchings by a former courtroom illustrator and a bicycle enthusiast opens at Wellington's Solander Gallery on 4 August.

Kelvin Mann's prints depict fantasy scenarios reminiscent of boyhood fiction, while many of Damon Kowarsky's are from a 2006 residency in Mexico.

Image: Red Light House (detail), Kelvin MannAn exhibition of new etchings by a former courtroom illustrator and a bicycle enthusiast opens at Wellington's Solander Gallery on 4 August.

Kelvin Mann's prints depict fantasy scenarios reminiscent of boyhood fiction, while many of Damon Kowarsky's are from a 2006 residency in Mexico.

Image: Red Light House (detail), Kelvin MannBicycles, in many weird and wonderful configurations, have been a popular theme in Mann's work for the past ten years and he admits he probably won't be finished with them ten years from now. Five ways to fall off a cycle is a labour of love, hand printed from three plates in seven colours.

Kowarksy's body of work features many prints from a 2006 residency where he was inspired by fable, religion and the cityscape of Mexico City.

A prolific drawer, Kowarsky creates works that are sublime in their economy of line, using skills he honed during his stint as a courtroom illustrator. Residency programmes have recently taken Kowarsky to North Africa and Mexico, as a result his imagery often incorporates figures in a still environment - they are caught at rest or frozen in action, slowed down by an oppressive heat.

Kelvin Mann was born in New Zealand and studied at the Otago School of Fine Art, Dunedin prior to moving to Dublin to become a member of the Graphic Studio Dublin.

Damon Kowarsky studied printmaking at the Victorian College of the Arts and Glasgow School of Art, and Advanced Figure Drawing with Godwin Bradbeer at RMIT. He graduated in 2000 from VCA with a BFA (Honours) in Printmaking and has travelled widely as a participant in many printmaking residency programmes.

When: 4 August - 1 September 2007
Where: Solander: works on paper, Vincent Aviation Building, 95 Tirangi Rd, Lyall Bay, Wellington

25/7/07